IRD says a new "convincing" email scam which seeks to take advantage of those waiting on a tax refund is doing the rounds claiming to be from Inland Revenue.
In the email which is titled: "Your income tax update", the fraudulent email addresses the consumer directly and states a dollar figure amount 'refund'.

Inland Revenue spokeswoman Sharon Thompson said the scam appeared to be widespread, with more than 900 reports of the email over the weekend.
"It looks like the real thing but has some tell-tale mistakes that people can use to tell it's a scam," Thompson said.

Inland Revenue is in the process of having the scam removed but the sites with direct links prompting consumers to can "jump back up again", IRD said.